Supergirl Season 2 – Random Miscellanea, Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my scattered thoughts for Supergirl post season 2. The first half of this lengthy post can be found at Supergirl Season 2 – Random Miscellanea, Part 1.

As I wrote in that introduction, there is no deliberate order to what I write here, but order might arise completely by accident. We’ll be surprised together. So buckle up.

Bedrooms – So, Alex’s bed is at one end of her apartment’s great room, and Kara has a loveseat at the foot of her bed – separated from the great room by a screen. What sort of designer learning went on in the Danvers household? Though, to be fair, it looks like Alex has a preference for studio apartments (for those unaware, Kara’s apartment was originally Alex’s).

Catch and Carry – I usually don’t point out minor continuity errors, but this one bugs me. In 2×21 “Resist”, when Cat falls out of Air Force One and is tumbling, her head is to Supergirl’s left when she just falls out of screen and is then immediately in Supergirl’s arms with her head to Supergirl’s right. That the Cat CG was sub-par was bad enough, but this sudden change in orientation irks me every time I see it.

Is She Good Enough – Kara has consistently kept Maggie at arm’s length. Maybe it’s because they both have leader personalities that this friction is inevitable. It’s not that I think Kara minds Maggie at all, though I don’t think they would have chosen the other to hang out with at the lunch table. I think it’s more coming from Kara wanting to ensure her more-emotionally-fragile-than-most-assume older sister doesn’t get hurt.

Sister v Girlfriend – In “Alex”, Maggie tried to argue that Kara being Alex’s sister didn’t trump Maggie being her girlfriend. Well…a sister of thirteen years does trump a girlfriend of five months with a past of infidelity. I’m not discounting the depth of Maggie’s feelings and current commitment to Alex, but she hasn’t yet put in the time or the number of life-saves the Danvers sisters have had with each other. You’re important, Maggie, but not more- or even just-as-important. But you’re (probably) engaged, now. You’ll get to the “just -as” stage soon enough.

Order Up – I wonder if there is going to be any fallout from Alex not implementing the president’s order to fire on the Daxam mothership? Suspension? Firing? A craftily worded reprimand?

The Lead Problem – While honoring the lore of lead being a Daxamite’s kryptonite, the solution in 2×22 was problematic. First, there isn’t a safe dose of lead for humans, so trace amounts or no, elemental lead isn’t a solution. Which suggests that the lead in the atmosphere isn’t elemental lead. I suspect it’s some actually-safe-for-humans leaden molecule that is also radioactive to Daxamites in the way that many kryptonites are radioactive to Kryptonians. This would negate the ability to simply sequester Mon-El in a filtered-air room. Then the delivery system suggests that it’s not just a cloud of fine particles. There is no way a cloud of dust passively infects the entire atmosphere in minutes. No, I’m thinking either nano-bots or, more likely, something in the quantum realm that entangles its location with that of Daxamites in a catalyst of our atmosphere. Or something like that.

Of Cyborgs and Men – Just how much of Hank and Jeremiah are cybernetic? Seems like they’d be easily defeated by simply attacking their non-cyborgy bits. X-ray vision time, Kara. Don’t be a slacker.

Pizza, Potstickers, and Ice Cream – It’s amazingly easy to get on Kara’s good side. If Lillian Luthor would ply her with a supply of comestibles, they could be well on their way to becoming friends. (Well, OK, maybe not. But it’d be worth it to see her try.)

Actuary – What must the insurance premiums in National City and Metropolis be like? There has to be some sort of “Supers-fund” set up by the government to reimburse the cities for at least some of the damage. I’m sure most of this has long been worked out from the years Superman has spent challenging Metropolis’ insurers.

Don’t Tug on Supergirl’s Cape – Because of how OP Supergirl and Superman are, I think there must be an understanding from the government that they will generally use their powers for good. After all, forcing them to actually kneel before you to do your will never seems to turn out well.

Lawsuits – Maggie mentioned that some criminals were now using the “Supergirl defense” in order to get off. As above, I think this has already been worked out in Metropolis. If National City’s laws haven’t caught up, that’s the legislature’s problem, not Supergirl’s. You also have to wonder about lawsuits that arise from Supergirl’s selective enforcement; e.g. if bank robbers shot and killed your spouse and that’s the day Supergirl decided not to crash through the bank’s roof to save the day so her sister’s girlfriend wouldn’t get in a snit, you might question in the courts how responsible Supergirl is for that and demand restitution.

PR – Who handles all of the requests that must be made for Supergirl to make appearances, endorse products, help with bullies, etc.? It’s not the DEO, they are secret. It’s not CatCo since no one there (ha!) knows Kara is Supergirl. Eliza is too busy Eliza-ing. Is there a government agency for this sort of thing?

Once and Future Alien? – At what point, if ever, did Kara become a legal alien? I’m sure she has forged and hacked papers and whatnot giving that illusion, but does she have a little-green-man card? Supergirl is very likely a registered alien due to her visibility and friendship with the president, but what of Kara?

Human Resources – Once Mon-El spilled the dating beans about Kara, J’onn mentioned that she was an employee of the DEO. Really? I hope they pay her a lot for the whole saving the world thing and stuff. Between CatCo and the DEO, you’d think she’d have extra spending money. Then again, keeping a Kryptonian well-fed and her home repaired has got to be expensive.

Venture – When Supergirl and Superman saved the Venture in 2×01, what happened then? Did they just leave? Did they help transport the now stranded people from the field back to urban civilization? What of the ship? Was that left for the NTSB or did they fly it to some nearby airport?

Two Metallos – When Supergirl and Superman confront the original, and too cocky Metallo, he convinces them to fly to Metropolis instead of defeating him then and there. Really? It takes time to fly to Metropolis. It’s likely the damage will be done before they get there (as it was). So they wasted a golden opportunity to take one of the Metallos out of play and instead had to split up in order to fight two of them. In contrast to comics lore, they aren’t very bright, these Els.

Solar Flare – What does it take to “solar flare”. Is it purely heat-vision related or is it a general depletion of yellow-sun reserves? You’d think wailing on Superman would do it. Perhaps maybe stopping a honkin’ big spaceship would do it. Really need to nail down the parameters on this so it isn’t a convenient plot device as in 2×07 “The Darkest Place”.

Lillian Loves Kara – Think about about. First, she doesn’t out her to Lena. Yeah, she has reasons but it’s weak. More telling in “The Darkest Place”, Lillian has a solar-flared Supergirl and she only takes her blood. No death. No organ theft. Just a little blood (which will likely be an issue later when a clone shows up (Power Girl?)). When a villain has a chance to easily vanquish their nemesis and doesn’t do it…it’s love.

Lonely Hearts – Both Lena and Kara have lost their loves. There’s going to be a lot of wine and sugary fried desserts in their immediate future, I think.

In Rao’s Light – Given all of the villainy that gets inflicted on National City, one has to wonder if the deaths and other casualties significantly spikes compared to other cities. Since there doesn’t seem to be a massive exodus out of town, the city must have some really nifty things going on for most people to be willing to risk staying (and no, I don’t think just having Supergirl around is enough for most).

Ex-pats – Where are all the Kryptonians who weren’t on Krypton when it died? Apparently the K-folk went off-planet a fair amount in better days. Surely there must still be a number of refugees continuing to lark about. Maybe not as many as with the Daxamites but enough to matter.

Bottom of the Glass – I’m hoping that when Maggie stopped Alex from refilling her liquor glass at the end of “Homecoming” that was a bit of a break from Alex’s obvious heavy drinking. Given that in season 1 we learned that this isn’t Alex’s first foray into substance abuse, it would be nice if we could nip this in the bud. It has become distracting and I don’t see how it pays off except with a “very special episode of Supergirl“. I hope there are more stories to tell instead of that.

Sometimes You Don’t Have the Time – One of the subtlest scenes, and one that I really enjoyed, came in “Exodus” when Snapper was having his exclusive with Supergirl. As Kara had to quickly change identities a couple of times, it was nice to see that when she changed from Supergirl back to Kara that her hair wasn’t quite as well-coiffed as when she changed from Kara to Supergirl. All that styling in the blink of an eye has got to be a hassle. I’m glad the show at least gave us an eye-wink to acknowledge the extra effort Kara has to make that Clark doesn’t.

Don’t Worry Your Pretty Little Head – It was interesting to see the usual gender roles turned on their head between Mon-El and Kara. She’s the courageous hero and she acted like it. He was the unreliable flibbertigibbet who had to be guided, placated, or used as a reward. People bristled at how weak he was. It was one of the nuanced yet pointed feminist messages of the show, and it often made me smile.

Roving Eyes – It’s got to be tough for Kara and Kal. Unless some fetching Kryptonians drop by, they will have to find love outside of their species. Because they look like us it’s easy to forget they are freakin’ aliens. No doubt there are going to be all sorts of incompatibilities. And you think navigating Tinder is rough.

Of Course Cat Knows – I just want to continue with what I wrote in my regular post-season article (Supergirl Season 2 – Some Post-season Thoughts) about Cat knowing Kara is Supergirl. Of course she knows. (Quick recap: go back to 1×19 “Myriad” to when Cat and Supergirl are talking on the CatCo balcony. When Cat recognizes Supergirl’s (slightly different than human?) shoulder anatomy is the same as Kara’s, she knows.) I think Cat rather admires that Kara was able to put her off the trail for over half a year because of the J’onn masquerade. No small accomplishment. in the meantime, Supergirl has conspicuously saved the world a few times, so I think Cat no longer doubts her commitment to saving people and balancing that with her journalistic pursuits. (I’m guessing that Kara will get a lot more leeway about deadlines and the like than most other reporters at those times when National City is in need of Supergirl’s attention.)

Guardian Haberdashery – Where does James keep his Guardian suit when he’s not out Guardianing? When Lillian’s Cadmus thugs attacked the alien bar, James ducked out and changed into his suit before exacting one move on the enemy in the alley. Where was the suit? How easy is it to put on at human speed?

Transmogrify – Just how much are Martians able to change when they shape shift? Clothes, apparently, but J’onn also tends to have a weapon on him. What are the guidelines?

Champion – I felt one of the more telling things about the final episode of the season came out of Kal telling Kara that he fought for Lois. No matter against whom or why, it was his love of Lois spurring him on. In Supergirl’s battle with Rhea, when all seemed lost, it wasn’t her love of Alex or Mon-El that drove Kara. “This is my home!” She fights for the planet that took in an alien refugee girl who not only lost everything — her family, her friends, her culture, her world — but saw it happen. She fights for Earth and all its billions of flawed inhabitants because it’s all she has left. In her heart, she has so much more to lose than Superman will ever know. Of course she was able to beat him.

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And I think it’s fair to say that, from the perspective of some, I might just think a little too much about this series. That said, I’m sure there’s stuff I missed, so don’t be surprised if another post pops up. As I’ve mentioned before, if I were again a young screenwriter, I’d be trying to be a writer for this show. Absent that, when I feel the creative team stumbles, I can’t help but say something, and when they shine, I also can’t help but say something. I have, after all, waited a very long time for my favorite superhero to get her due. I’m going to savor it as much as I can.